Health Bill criticised for not protecting whistleblowers

PROPOSED health reform measures do not safeguard whistleblowers and represent a missed opportunity to adequately protect patients, Fine Gael claimed yesterday.

The Health Bill, introduced to the Dáil yesterday, was described as “disappointing” and “ill-conceived” by the party’s health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey.

He insisted that the need for new patient safety measures could not be clearer following the Neary, Leas Cross and MRSA scandal and the ongoing problems in A&E departments.